Demolition tools are known in the art. One primary use for such tools is in firefighting. The firefighter responding to a fire requires a tool useful in, among other things, getting to a fire in a building or other structure or to prevent the spread of the fire by removing flammable material in the path of the fire. The tool should be multi-functional having the ability to accomplish, including, but not limited to, (1) puncturing a hole in a ceiling, wall or similar structure; (2) the ability to pull the ceiling or wall material away from the supporting structure once the ceiling, wall or other structure has been punctured; (3) having a blunt end for knocking down or rupturing structures in the path of the firefighter; and (4) having a prying means to pry material from a ruptured structure out of the way.
For example, when a firefighter needs to get to a fire in the ceiling, or just needs to get into the ceiling to prevent the spread of a fire, he or she preferably needs to puncture the ceiling with a tool having a small cross-sectional area, to focus the energy of impact to improve its effectiveness and decrease physical stress on the user, and then expand the tool to remove large areas of the ceiling material to get to the fire or to prevent the spread of the fire. Most known demolition tools do not have this capability. Additionally, there may be joists, HVAC ducts or other structures in the ceiling that current demolition tools may catch on. Accordingly, present demolition tools may get hung up on such structures making it difficult, if not impossible, to remove the tool from the punctured ceiling. A tool is needed that is able, at the user's option, to decrease in size to allow it to be withdrawn without getting stuck on those structures.
Besides performing the above functions, a demolition tool must be easy to carry; not too heavy; durable to withstand the forces and impacts in firefighting or other demolition tasks; easy to grip and swing; made of a material sufficiently non-conductive to avoid electrical shock; easy to store, including on a fire truck; and generally easy to use.
The firefighting tools currently on the market are difficult to use in breaking through a ceiling, and once the ceiling is broken through, to pull down large areas of the ceiling material. As stated above, such tools may often get caught upon a structure in the ceiling such as a joist, duct or the like. The present demolition tools are not multi-functional requiring the use of different tools for different functions.
Accordingly, there is a need in the market for a multi-functional demolition tool for use by firefighters, police, SWAT teams, construction workers, fire restoration workers, or other similarly situated workers. The present invention meets this need and provides for an improved demolition tool.